Sony Settles with 3M in Battery Suit

Sony and 3M announced Tuesday they have reached a settlement to end a dispute involving patents related to rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. 3M sued Sony, along with Lenovo, Hitachi and others in March for using cathode materials used inside their batteries.

3M claimed it took 10 years and $700 million to develop the cathode technology, which makes batteries last longer and give off less heat. Under terms of the settlement, Sony Corporation and Sony Electronics receive full licenses to the technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Sony had few other options, as 3M had requested that the U.S. International Trade Commission block all imports of the infringing batteries, and any laptops using them.